As Endless as the Ocean, as Timeless as the Tides
by ChemKid43
Summary: Being stuck in a wheelchair was never something Marie imagined for her life. After her accident she resigned herself to living a lonely life stuck in her house. But people have a funny way of helping others.


Marie, an average sized girl with average looks and average style, was sitting at the dining room table of her house. Her medium length brown hair was acting as a curtain around her face as she stared down at her Pokegear. Normally she would use a black bandanna with a white floral design she had embroidered it with to hold her hair back, but she hadn't done that since her hair started to grow out. She hadn't even changed out of pajamas in weeks. Not even when she and her mother moved from Johto to Hoenn. Her mother had just stuck in the back of the moving van with all of the boxes. She was sitting there for hours in the sweltering heat.

The only reason they were moving was because of her father. For months he had been in the Hoenn region, trying to get his job as a Gym Leader. It didn't even seem to matter to him that his marriage was in shambles. All he wanted was to be a Gym Leader. Once he finally managed to achieve that goal, with the most boring type in Maries opinion, he had his wife and daughter pack up their apartment in Goldenrod City and move to the new region. He didn't even have them move to the same town as him. His gym was in Petalburg and they bought a house in Twinleaf. He said that they could just walk up to see them, never mind the fact that his wife didn't want to see them and his daughter was in a wheelchair.

That's why Marie hadn't changed out of pajamas. She and some of her friends had gone to look around the Burned Tower in Ecruteak City, Jillian was extremely fascinated by the old legends about the Pokemon that were resurrected in the tower. While they were looking around part of the floor had given way beneath her feet. She landed directly on her back and felt a serious pain. Everything after that was a blur, and before she knew it the doctors had told her she would never walk again.

A week later she was moving.

What upset her the most was that they hadn't even moved to Rustboro City, which is where the Hoenn chapter of her gang, Lux et Tenebris, took up residence. They were a group of people who gave teens with terrible home lives a safe place to go. They had a central location where people could go to talk with others their age, talk with counselors, work out or do homework, basically anything they can't do at home. Besides her online friends that she would video chat with they were the only people Marie had.

That's who she was texting. Dylan, one of the older members back in Johto, was telling her that she should expect a pretty big surprise soon. When she asked for a hint as to what it was all he said was that two of the Hoenn members would be bringing it to her soon.

Then she heard something. It was muffled and seemed to be far away, but she could still hear it. She wasn't sure, but she thought it sounded a bit like screaming. Her mother wasn't in the house, she was up in Oldale for her newest affair.

Marie didn't want to get involved. She honestly didn't. All she wanted was to roll her wheelchair up the ramp to her second story bedroom and lay in bed for awhile. She almost did. But then she thought about how she felt after her accident. She didn't know how long it would be before someone came to help her, she had heard her friends freaking out because they didn't know how to get down to the basement, and she knew what she had to do.

Rolling over to the front door, hesitating only slightly when her hand rested on the knob, she pushed the door open. As she rolled into the light her eyes hurt. It had been so long since she had been outside that her eyes were having trouble adjusting to the brightness of the sun. Once she realized that it made her think about how pathetic she was for letting her injury keep her confined to her house.

Littleroot town was quite possibly the smallest town to ever exist. At least it was the smallest town Marie had ever seen. Besides her house there were two other buildings in the town. Another house and a Pokemon lab, which was run by her neighbor, Professor Birch. She knew that he was an old friend of her fathers, and that he had a son her age, but despite the month she had been living in town she had never met the man. He had tried before. On the few occasions that her mother was home she heard the two talking. About her and her accident, about her father, about his research. The professor wanted to introduce her to his son. The only thing holding her back was her disability. She hated it when people saw her like that. It made her feel weak and the one thing she hated more than anything was being weak. She heard him knock on the door several other times, no doubt trying to be friendly and see if Marie had come out of her shell any. The only time someone opened the door to greet him was when her mother was home.

Once she had left her house it was easier for her to tell where the screaming was coming from. Rolling over to the entrance of the town, a forest path, she followed the distressed sounds. It seemed like forever before she got anywhere. It wasn't easy either. Her chair wasn't meant for rolling through the uneven grassy area. So she was relieved when she finally got where she wanted to go, even with the sight that greeted her.

A brown haired man in a lab coat was being chased around by a wild Pokemon. He was screaming for someone to help him as he ended up backed against a tree. He looked like he was about to pee his pants, even though Marie guessed he was used to working with the wild creatures. If his attire was anything to go by then it was pretty obvious that he was Professor Birch.

All of a sudden he spotted the teenager sitting there in a wheelchair. "Halloo! You must be Marie! I could use some help over here!" He pointed to a bag that was laying on the ground about halfway between them. "In my bag are some Poke Balls. The Pokemon in them can help."

Urged on by the dangerous situation in front of her, Marie managed to reach the bag relatively quickly. Leaning over, she picked up the back on the ground and plunged her hand into it. Grasping one of the balls in the bag, she pulled it out and released the Pokemon.

Suddenly in front of her was a small Pokemon. A green gecko with a red stomach and big yellow eyes. Eyes wide, she saw the little gecko look back at her, waiting for instructions. Nodding, Marie braced herself for the coming battle.

* * *

The wild Pokemon, a rather large Poochyena, didn't last long against the Treecko she had pulled from the bag. Who had become a permanent fixture in Maries life. As thanks for saving him from the wild Pokemon Professor Birch had allowed her to keep the grass type.

Treecko had been a major help around the house. He would climb up to reach things on higher shelves, the shelves that Marie couldn't reach, and he would help her organize all her supplies when she was embroidering something or making jewelry. He was overall the companion she needed. She wasn't on her own while her mother was off with some man anymore.

Then there was Professor Birch and his family. They insisted that she come over for every meal, stating that they wanted to make sure she was eating well. Every meal time Brendan, who spent his time either helping his father in the field or with Marie at her house, would wheel Marie over to his house. Over food they would talk about how their day to day life was going while Treecko and Brendans Torchic would eat from bowls set on the floor for them.

Marie was content with how her life was going, even if she wouldn't be opposed to doing more. Then, she got the surprise Dylan had promised her.


End file.
